Raman Scattering, Thermal studies and Reverse Monte Carlo Simulations of an Amorphous Ge$_{30}$Se$_{70}$ Alloy Produced by Mechanical Alloying

TL;DR

This study investigates the atomic structure and thermal properties of an amorphous Ge$_{30}$Se$_{70}$ alloy produced by Mechanical Alloying using Reverse Monte Carlo simulations, Raman scattering, and calorimetry.

Contribution

It provides detailed structural insights into the alloy's short and intermediate range order, highlighting differences from alloys made by other methods.

Findings

High number of Se-Se pairs in the first shell

Presence of Se-Se bridges connecting tetrahedral units

Structural differences compared to alloys prepared by other techniques

Abstract

The short and intermediate range order of an amorphous Ge$_{30}$Se$_{70}$ alloy produced by Mechanical Alloying were studied by Reverse Monte Carlo simulations of its x-ray total structure factor, Raman scattering and differential scanning calorimetry. The simulations were used to compute the $G^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Ge-Ge}}(r)$, $G^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Ge-Se}}(r)$ and $G^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Se-Se}}(r)$ partial distribution functions and the ${\cal S}^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Ge-Ge}}(K)$, ${\cal S}^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Ge-Se}}(K)$ and ${\cal S}^{\text{RMC}}_{\text{Se-Se}}(K)$ partial structure factors. We calculated the coordination numbers and interatomic distances for the first and second neighbors and the bond-angle distribution functions $\Theta_{ijl}(\cos\theta)$. The data obtained indicate that the structure of the alloy has important differences when compared to alloys prepared by other techniques. There are a high number of Se-Se pairs in the first shell, and some of the tetrahedral units formed seemed to be connected by Se-Se bridges.